skipro101

So, after about 100 FF jumps, my new RW suit came in and I tried it out yesterday. I think the first jump was a 5 way or so, and it didnt go so well, those booties really F you up .. I got the mega booties that tony suit has, they are powerfull... Anyways, I was zooming to and fro the entire dive.. When i went to pull, I saw the opening for the first time, so i knew I was unbalanced (must have been the booties), I opened extremely hard and had linetwists (I have never had linetwists since jump number 8). Anyway, I now have a bruise where my left 3 rings are, back/neck hurts... On the second jump, I did a 2-way with beandip, it went much better, good exit, flew my slot, all we did is forward motion and center point turns... Just wanted to say Thanks to beandip for making sure I had someone to jump with for RW even though I suck at it, and thanks to the rest of the Aerohio crew, you guys/gals rock

I think your missing a very important fact. This is student gear. Students must rely on others to make descisions for them because they are ignorant. Period. You cannot expect a level 1 AFF jump student to know enough about gear to figure out of its safe. It is the responsibility of the DZO to make sure that the student gear is safe. Anything else is asking for disaster. I know....I had two cutaways in a row on student gear at my first dz. I switched to a different dz. Im lucky that that first student gear didnt kill me.

btw, a cessna 150 at skypark is 33 dollars per hour. Flight instruction is 15 dollars an hour. A 172 is 52 dollars per hour. The catch? The aircraft are about as $hitty as you can find and are about to fall apart. ...the 172s are so bad that I would never go into actual IMC in one....thats part of the reason why I swtiched flight schools for my IFR rating. Again, Dont pay top dollar for a brand new rental plane. Find someplace that has well kept planes and good CFIs. And personally I would reccomend a part 141 school...not a universtiy for sure, just some local FBOs part 141 school....check out www.teachmetofly.com for an example, thats where im getting my IFR... very cool people...and IFR certified 150s! ...and because its 141 you can get your ratings in less time....even cheaper than skypark:}

Its costs anywhere from 2,000 to 18,000 to get your private depending on where you go. Embry riddle being the latter, and skypark (www.flyskypark, a club) being the cheaper one. There are all kinds of prices in between. It will cost you anywhere from 3 weeks to years to get it done. Id say 3 months is a good timetable for parttime. There are a bazillion gazlion options for training. I would not begin to try and explain them all here...., however...i love sharing info and if you want to know info from a pilot who recently completed his prviate and is almost done with his IFR, has been through both part 61, and part 141 flight training...then give me a call. PM me and ill give you my numer. You do get what you pay for, but when you get towards the top end of the pay scale, you really dont need to be paying that much. embry riddle and other ridicusly priced (usually 141) schools have practicly brand new aircraft every few years. as a private pilot trainee you dont need a NDB or GPS or cd players in some brand new 172, you need a good condition (read safe) plane that isnt IFR rated. Generally, i would reccomend you find a club that offers part 61 flight training. be VERY carefull in choosing your instructor and I would reccomend that you find one that was trained via part 141. They will probably have a better inclination to a structured program rather than just getting your the hours/basic skills enough to pass the checkride....make sure they know you plan on going career if you do. The instructor is the most important part here. alot of times, the 141 students at local universities teach after they get their CFI at local part 61 schools. those CFI's are a better bet than the strange CFI thats been flying for 40 years and learned in a piper cub....definately not universily true, but in my experiance those people are slow to change and are outdated...im sure there are alot of older CFIs who are awesome teachers, I just htink that if you get someone thats taught for a year or two after graduating from a 141 school, you would be better off. alot of 141 schools hire their own CFI's that they taught, so you can get the same instruction for a part 61 price. Thats what I did. Anyway, just do a lot of research and search around. if you have ANY questions, please PM me and we can talk. I have a lot of info to give as I just went through this process and am currently living with the benefits/negatives of my descisions. good luck and dun be a stranger.

I wake up.

woohoo yippie two weeks ago. hey thats good for me! last time before that? hrmmm....13 months?

I initiate pull at 3. When freeflying, I breakoff at 5 or 4.5, then track and wait to slow down till I hit 3k. then its reach, pull throw... When deploying from slower speeds, I am willing to break off by 4, to pull at 3. I have an A license. And if im correct, according to BSRs i must deploy by 3. Im not sure if this means initiate pull or be in the saddle. Actually, sometimes I find that im scared to pull because I weigh 220. With gear thats 240 at least. Force=weight TIMES speed. so every little pound means much more forced at deployment. Sometimes I pull alitttle too soon after a FF dive and get spanked hard... usually after these dives I find myself hesitant to pull at 3k and end up waiting "just alittle bit longer" till I slow down some more....one time this lead to me being open at like 1400. Since then, I have always made it a point to pull at 3k even if im not slowed down... but if i do that, and know i just did FF dive, I always wince, because I know its going to hurt like a b***.

damn I thought sure this thread had died and been buried. anyway Im closer to the date of the course and am able to better judge my prepardness. Im sure I will do fine. Thanks peeps.

can you disconnect and reconnect the skyhook as easily as an RSL?

Ok, lol...lets try and not open a can of worms...please dont discuss the pros and cons of rsl and cameras...its been beat to death for sure.. rather, I just want to know if the skyhook is any different/safer for use for people with cameras.... I really like the skyhook system, but am planning on jumping video with the next few months....and I dont want to buy a rig with a skyhook if it poses the same problems as a rsl equipped rig when jumping camera. thx

pm'd....

You have a point, its just I feel that its the only option availibe since no one around here has a voodoo...let alone one that is the right size... stil would be nice to see on up front... which is why im going to take up that other idea about going to rantoul...im there! hell, the manufactere can probly measure me there....no excuse for an il fitting rig then.. Thanks peeps, ill wait it out till rantoul.

That is an excellent Idea. I will be there the first weekend. Ill wait to make a purchase untill then. thanks

THing is, if i manage to find someone with a rig that is what i want to demo, and even someone who is somewhat my size..its not going to be made for me...so i might hink that rig is unconfortable when in fact its just that it isnt sized for me. Anyway, voodoo says 6-8 weeks. Thats end of august.

hehe I plan on jumping it right away! Fortunately this will get here before winter :}. Yea, I would love to jump one. But try and find someone with a voodoo up here in ohio..there arent even any dealers up here....let alone finding one thats big enough to fit a 6'2 210lb guy... Anyway, I will, for sure, jump whatever rig i get asap and consult with manufacter about the fit. Will be easy now that im A licensed and its summer... Thanks

Oh and I havent completely been won by voodoo.. that skyhook is verrry appealing...i just might go with RWS. Of course they have a rep for not being as confortable as other rigs... ugggh.

Well thats nice that they bent over backwards for you, but they wont for me. Its past the 90 day limit by 3 or 4 months. They are quick to offer a fix, but of course it will be several hundred dollars. Anyway, ive already sold the rig. What makes you say the mirage is a "far far" better rig than the voodoo? And please only give facts. Thanks for the imput and replies people. But those comments like "mirage is a far beter rig" without any objective info to back it up, is exactly what I was whining about earlier on this thread....everyone throws out their opinion to new people for subjective reasons..or at least dont take the time to make the objective reasons known...which leads people like me to just file those commments in the back of my head and ignore them. Sorry about that. I got the mirage for a very good deal when i bought it new, and I just sold it for 100 less than I paid. I would say thats pretty close. I can get a new voodo with stainless, PD reserve, and a Custom new canopy (the hornet in my old rig wasnt custom, just new) for the same amt that I paid for the mirage. Anyway, mirage is a good company and every time that I have delt with them they have been top notch..overnighting risers and other stuff like that... Im not displeased with mirage, .....its just I know there is now one more reason that newbies should wait to get new gear: So they know what the heck is going on. Regardless, I have heard awesome things about voodoos comfort and it is tsod to the new stanard...which is higher than mirages tso i belive.. its also got a kick butt shape...instead of some cheesewedge brick on your back you get a contoured tapered rig. so its confortable and strong...and im going to make sure it fits or fly out to eloy and get it right...So whats wrong with that? What more could I want? No, it doesnt cost more than 2k with all options and its not endorsed by (enter skygod name here)...must be crappy If you do have some facts about why a mirage is better than a voodoo...id love to hear it...I havent ordered yet......

I see it as a handicap and am glad ive never worn one.

Well, thing is, I ordered this when I was about a month into my skydiving career. I was completely ignorant. When I got the conatianer, the dealer had me try it on and said "welp, does it fit?" It felt fine to me, so I sad yes. As far as I was concerned, I had a rig that fit all winter, it was only untill i jumped it this spring that I found out it wasnt right. On the ground it looks fine, when I try and pull the container away from my back, it does not come off. Somehow, it shifts in ff so that it does come off my back. This is a sore spot for me, its incredibly frustrating. As a newbie, I had no idea what to look for/expect/check for when recieving a system, and the source of info that I was supposed to go after..the dealer...did not provide the information. I guess i got midly screwed. As far as not ordering a voodoo, all i can say is WHATEVER. God its so frustrating, everywhere I turn I hear, dont buy from this manufacter, then another person, "buy from that manufactere" or this manufacter is bad because they had qc issues then another reputable source will say the opposite, or fly WL according to manufacter suggestions..then a week later.. oh but dont fly atair canopies according to manufacteres suggestions because they are trying to kill you..then from a st&A, bah..youll be fine... BLA BLA BLA. It seems no one knows what they are talking about. its all subjective. Seriously, I appreciate the info about the ill fitting voodoos, but please understand that im going to ignore it. I ordered a mirage and it doesnt fit.. I will say that rigginginnovations doesnt have very many measurements on their form...which concerned me...but this time im going to get checked out by someone I know and trust, so we can make sure it fits. Ugghh, its quite frustrating, ive gotten very bad info from dealers, dzos, and jumpers. Everyone in the system..even the manufacturers. Who is a newbie to trust? Honestly right now im just down to trial and error. its the only thing that I know will eventually get me to where i want to be. Ill order the voodoo. If that new rig doesnt fit, im flying myself out to eloy to get it right!

Okay, never recieved reply email so I called them today. Its past the 90 day limit so I would have to pay for alterations. Could be up to 400 dollars. Im going to buy a voodoo. This sucks.

Ask your local ST&A.

Im thinking 100+ is just ment to be a cute way of saying a lot. It says D license and 14 years in the sport.

Ive done FF since jump 25. My RW suit should be here in a few weeks. I plan on doing both.

Well they have yet to respond to my email. Ill probly have to call. I hope this doesnt keep going in the direction it has been...would be nice to hear "sure, send it in and well do a mod and have it back out to you in a week"...but hehe... im sure thats too much to hope for.

1. edited for content 2. edited for content 3. edited for content 4. number 1 while doing number 3 5. find a four leaf clover....never have :{